Wildfire News Of The Day (the Firebomber Publications blog) provides comprehensive international wildfire news. Subscribers include over 10,000 personnel from fire agencies, contractors, and government entities on five continents. "BEST NEWSLETTER I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY 32 YEARS IN THE FIRE SERVICE" - San Diego Fire Department Chief Brian Fennessy.

Friday, November 23, 2012

WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 112312

An article from Santa Maria, California, casts doubt on the future of the venerable Neptune P-2V air-tanker (1); but residents of Santa Cruz County are up in arms about the state's controversial fire fee (2). A four-acre wildfire resulted from some welding operations in Arizona's Central Yavapai Fire District (3); while New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest is opening a 30 day public comment period on its plans to re-forest between 1,800 to 2,510 acres with 425,000 ponderosa pine and Douglas fir seedlings (4). Esquire Magazine has named Colorado's Gov. Hickenlooper as one of their Americans of the Year due to his steady leadership during Colorado's disastrous fire season (5); and the Bureau of Land Management is planning to do a salvage timber harvest across 940 acres of Idaho's John Day drainage (6). Families who lost their homes in Mannford, Oklahoma, this summer reflected on all the things they still are thankful for (7). Firefighters extinguished a wildfire that scorched half a square mile in Custer County, Nebraska (8); and firefighters in Iowa battled a wildfire in a dry lake bed near Britt (9). A 60-acre wildfire reported in the Wasioto Winds area of Kentucky's Pine Mountain State Park was believed to be arson (10). Tennessee Division of Forestry firefighters didn't get a very Happy Thanksgiving, with several wildfires breaking out in the eastern part of the state (11); including one in east Knox County which burned between 50 and 100 acres (12). Fire crews lit four acres of controlled burns along New Jersey's Lake Lenape (13); but to help prevent wildfires, Florida Forest Service provided some safety tips for homeowners who decide to burn their Christmas tree at the end of the holiday season (14). An environmental consultant discusses the importance of bushfires in Namibia, Africa, in the next article (15); while South Africa's Working on Fire program has just graduated a new class of cadets to join the 5,000 others trained in wildland firefighting (16). A 30-acre wildfire was reported in Punakha, Bhutan (17); where, with the approach of summer, people planning outdoor activities were reminded of the need for fire permits (18). Four years on, Victoria, Australia, has implemented only 35 of the 67 policies recommended by the Royal Bushfire Commission in the wake of the Black Saturday bushfires (19); but 39 communities will be allowed to operate bushfire sirens as part of a Victorian government plan (20); but the Victorian Supreme Court has rebuffed efforts by the federal government from joining a bushfire class-action lawsuit against electricity provider SP AusNet (21). South Australia's Country Fire Service is restricting the airspace around a 2,200-hectare bushfire burning near Port Lincoln to allow more maneuvering room for air-tankers (22). A new report from Western Australia confirms that volunteers' quick response to the Augusta-Margaret River bushfires a year ago was instrumental in reducing the damage done (23); nevertheless, some residents are still angry about the fire (24); while some people remain traumatized by their own encounter with bushfires outside of Milyeannup (25). And finally, for those who plan to visit fire stations in Detroit, Michigan, it will be strictly a BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) affair!